Chapter 87: Directions

FieryKathy

After everything is said and done, I put the tablet away and get my choker ready so we can move out. In the meantime the others clean up our breakfast. 

“Should we go by car or take the tram to your university?” My sister asks while playing around with her keys. 

“Tram should be fine, my parents will be taking the tram too anyway.” Sam picks up her bag and swings it around her shoulder. 

“Ah, got any plans for the evening?” Max does the same. 

“We were all going to visit Sam’s parents after the game.” My sister clarifies. 

“Yes, we haven’t met them yet and we thought this might be a good opportunity to do so.” Nikki fills in.

“And Hilda was joining as well.” I add to that. 

“That sounds like a fun evening.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Élise opens the door as we all follow her outside and head towards the tram station.

The trip towards uni was calm and uneventful, a slight warm breeze, quite uncommon for October, made my dress wave as we exited the tram and entered our campus.

“We will go ahead to get dressed and start our warm-up.” Sam grabs my hand and gives me a kiss. “You remember where you can get your snacks, right?” 

I nod. “I do.” 

“Alright.” Sam smiles and gives me another kiss. “The game starts in 45 minutes. Don’t be late!”

“Of course not.”

“See you later babe!”

“See you.” I blow her a hand kiss as they walk off in the distance.

In the meantime Nikki and my sister were looking around at our environment, my sis had already put on her aviator sunglasses. 

“Wow, the campus park sure changed a lot since we were last here.” Lise whistles. 

“Did it?” 

“Yeah, it’s a lot greener than I remember.”

“They had only recently planted it when we were studying.” Nikki explains. 

“Ah yeah, that makes sense.”

“The gymnasium was somewhere to the left, right Amicia?” My sister points in the general direction. 

I nod. “Yep.” 

“Alrighty.” She grabs her girlfriend's hand and starts leading the way, with me following a couple of meters behind them. It kind of feels like seeing them on a date, it’s pretty darn cute.

To my surprise my sister and Nikki even manage to find the snack store without much of my own help. That’s when I hear a familiar voice coming from behind me.

“Hey Amicia.” 

“Hilda!” I run up to her and give her a big hug.

“What’s up kiddo.” She smiles and gives me a head pet, holding a motorcycle helmet in her other hand.

“Ah, hey there, Hilda.” My sister and Nikki have turned around as well to greet their friend. “Was it easy to find?” 

“Yeah, I just followed you guys. Saw you in the distance but didn’t bother running, it’s a bit too warm for that.” 

“Maybe you shouldn’t be wearing a leather jacket and motorcycle pants then?” 

She shrugs. “You need to be safe on a motorbike, you know?”

“Fair enough.”

“By the way, have you seen Sam’s parents yet?” 

“No.” I shake my head. “Maybe they are inside already.” At that moment my phone buzzes, it’s a message from Sam. “Ah…”

“What’s up kitten?” 

“It’s Sam, she says her parents can’t find the way to the gymnasium, they are waiting near the faculty of science. I’ll go and get them then.”

My sister nods. “Okay, want us to get you some snacks?”

I look at the counter for a second. “Yes! A portie bitterballen and a frikandel please!” 

“Oh, that does sound nice.” Hilda rubs her chin.

“Alright. You can go ahead, we will keep a couple of seats.” 

I leave my friends and family behind to look for Sam’s parents, luckily it doesn’t take that long for me to find time. 

“Oh, hey Amici.” Sam’s mom greets me with a kiss. “You look lovely today.”

“Thank you, Lucy.” 

“Ah, you remember my name?” 

“Of course!” 

“See honey, she’s such a sweetheart.” 

“Otherwise our Sam wouldn’t have fallen in love with her.” Carlos rubs his wife on her back.

“That’s true.” She smiles. “But Amicia, be honest with us, how far are we from where we were supposed to be?” 

“Uhhh… You are at the right university.” 

“Well, it’s something.” Sam’s dad shrugs.

“Oh dear, well, if you’d be so kind to show us the way then.” 

“Definitely, that’s why I’m here.” I smile and start guiding them through campus. “Is this the first time you come to watch Sam?”

“Not really.” Her mom giggles embarrassedly. “We are just completely hopeless when it comes to directions, isn’t that true, dear?” 

“Well… maybe a little.” 

“We’ve gotten lost in a supermarket once. It was quite the ordeal.” Sam’s mom laughs again. “They did have some very nice meatballs, though.”

I can see Carlos agreeing vehemently with that statement. “Those were indeed incredible.” 

Having guided Carlos and Lucy to the gymnasium and having them pick out snacks, we finally enter the room where the game is going down. The clock on my phone tells me we still have 15 minutes left. Apparently, while I was gone, Hailey and Carol had arrived as well and were sitting next to my sister and Nikki, talking to Hilda. 

“Oh, so you are Sam’s parents?” My sister stands up once she notices us approaching.

“Yes, we are.” Carlos smiles and gives my sister a hand. “And you are…”

“Amicia’s sister, this here is my partner Nikki and our friend Hilda.”

Nikki and Hilda wave at Sam’s parents, respectively. 

“And we are Sam and Amicia’s friends.” Carol and Hailey also introduce themselves.

“It’s nice to meet you all.” Lucy waves and sits down next to Élise while I make my way over to the other side to sit next to my friends.

“Ah, here Ami, here are your snacks.” Hilda hands over the bitterballen en the frikandel to me.

“Thank you! Are you not going to eat anything?” I try to look around but I can’t see any snacks on her.

“I’m going to get some during the break, I’m really that hungry yet.”

“And what about you two?”

On cue Carol and Hailey both take their snacks from the floor. Carol had picked some nachos with cheese dip and Hailey had a bag of spicy looking chips.

“It feels a bit like going to the cinema, doesn’t it?” Hailey noms on a chip.

“It does indeed.” Carol does the same. 

“Want to try a chippy, Ami?”

I nod. “Of course, I won’t say no to that. Unless they are too spicy.”

“They are fine. Here.” Hailey feeds me a chippy. 

“Wah, delicious.”

“Try mine too!” Carol dangles a nacho with cheese dip on it in front of me, of course I couldn’t do anything but to give it a good nomming. 

“Oh, I see you all are feeding my girlfriend.” Sam’s team had taken the field and she and Max had walked over to come say hi.

“Yesh, they are treating me well!”

“Good.” Sam smiles. “I see you found my parents too.” she nods to them, they were talking to Max at the moment. 

“Yeah, they weren’t that hard to find.”

“Do your parents know Max, Sam?” Carol asks. 

“Yeah, she’s come over to my house a couple of times before.”

“Does that make you jealous, Carol?” Hailey pokes her shoulder in Carol’s side.

“Of course not!” She pouts. “I was just curious!” 

“You don’t need to worry. Me and Max wouldn’t be a good couple, while we are really good friends our personalities don’t fit romantically. And I have Ami, obviously.” Sam reassures her.

Sam’s parents apparently heard her comment because they join the conversation as well. “We could tell they fit really well together but there definitely never was this ‘daughter-in-law’ click we had with Amicia.”

“No offense, Max.”

“None taken.” She smiles. “Sam’s too sportsy for me, I like my girls more like a folk song or a popular folk song. Quite christmassy.” 

“What does that mea… ah.” Sam’s coin dropped. “I see.” She looks at Carol and smiles.

Carol had also deciphered the message and is blushing quite profusely.

“Anyhow, we should go back and go over the strategy for today’s game. See you later.” Max winks at Carol and then moves on. 

“Ami, before I go, can I get a good luck kiss?” 

“Of course.” I quickly stand up and head towards the sideline, giving my girlfriend a long kiss on the lips. “Go get them, captain.” 

“Aye aye.” She grins and swiftly runs off.

“Well, now they definitely can’t lose anymore.” Hilda laughs.

As the game starts 5 minutes later and it slowly progresses ‘till half time, Hilda’s prediction appears to hold true. With the university's team leading by twenty points. Both Max and Sam appear to be in absolute top form and are running across the field almost effortlessly. Even their own team seems to be having issues at times to keep up with them. 

When the buzzer finally sounds for the break, the two teams are 23 points apart.

A part of me can’t be prouder of my girlfriend, although a different part somehow feels guilty, especially after seeing the faces of the players of the other team….

My thoughts get interrupted by a hand that slinks into view from the left and steals the last bitterbal from my snack box. It was Hilda’s. But before I could stop her, the bitterball had already disappeared in her mouth.

“My bitterbal!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself, it looked too delicious to be left alone for that long.” 

“Hilda!!!” I whine to which she starts laughing again. 

She pets my head. “Come kitten, let’s go and get you some more snacks.” and she offers me her hand.

I think for a second and then take her hand. “Okay. Might as well.”

It’s clear what she’s trying to do, and honestly, I could use a bit of a distraction at the moment...  

FieryKathy